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Emergency Protection Orders (EPOs)
in respect of children

What is an emergency protection order?

In practice emergency protection
orders, also known as EPOs, give the applicant the power to remove
the child or to keep the child in a safe place for a specified
duration. Those orders operate in an injunctive manner to demand a
handover of the child to the applicant.

They are very extreme measures and
are used with great caution in cases of emergencies.

What is the effect of an EPO?

EPOs are introduced and governed by
the Children Act
1989. Section 44(4) of the Act provides that EPOs have three
effects:

It operates to direct any person
to comply with any request to produce the child to the applicant

The order provides for the
removal of the child to accommodation provided by the applicant;
or alternatively it governs the prevention of the child’s
removal from a hospital or other place in which he has been
accommodated immediately prior to the order

EPO gives parental responsibility
for the child while at the same time does not remove it from
anyone else who has PR in respect of the child

Who can apply and what are the
provisions?

There are three different situations
and tests depending on the type of the applicant.

Firstly, in general any person may
apply for an emergency protection order under s44(1)(a) but the
court may only grant the order under this ground if it is satisfied
that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely
to suffer significant harm if either:

He is not removed to
accommodation provided by or on behalf of the applicant; or

He does not remain in the place
where he is being accommodated.

Secondly, a local authority may rely
on ground (a) as above or may use an alternative rout under
s44(1)(b):

Inquiries are being made with
respect to the child under s47(1)(b); and

Those inquiries are being
frustrated by access to the child being unreasonably denied to a
person authorised to seek access and the applicant has
reasonable cause to believe that access to the child is required
as a matter of urgency

Thirdly, an authorised person (at
this moment the provisions only apply to the NSPCC) may apply on the
ground set out in s44(1)(c) if he can show that:

He has reasonable ground to
believe that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer,
significant harm

He is making inquiries with
respect to the child’s welfare

Those inquiries are being
frustrated by access to the child being unreasonably refused to
a person authorised to seek access and the applicant has
reasonable cause to believe that access to the child is required
as a matter of urgency

The terms harm and significant appear
on number of occasions in respect of EPOs. For the purposes of those
orders harm means ill-treatment or the impairment of health and
development and even though significant has not itself been defined,
the judicial guidance provides that it is not to be equated with
substantial.

What factors is the court to
consider prior making the order?

The court must be satisfied that one
of the grounds in section 44(1) as above is satisfied. Secondly, the
court must be of the opinion that the child’s welfare requires that
the order be made. It is important to note that the welfare of the
child is a paramount consideration in respect of EPOs. Thirdly, the
court must be satisfied that the making of the order will be better
for the child than making no order, which is also known as the no
order principle.

What is the duration of an EPO?

An EPO may have effect in the
first instance for a maximum of 8 days. The relevant period also
includes any period when the child is in police protection.

In specific circumstances, the
court may extend the period of up to 7 days. This power can only
be exercised if the applicant has parental responsibility for
the child as a result of the emergency protection order and is
entitled to apply for a care order with respect to the child –
i.e. local authorities and NSPCC.

The extension should only be
granted if the court has reasonable cause to believe that the
child is likely to suffer significant harm if the order is not
extended.

Therefore, the total amount for
an emergency protection order is up to 15 days.

An applicant local authority
could be expected to make a decision on whether to apply for a
care or supervision order within that time and file the
application as soon as practicable.

A party may apply to discharge an
EPO only if he was not present when it was initially made.
Therefore, a party can be present to oppose the making or the
order or apply for it to be discharged but not both. An
application to discharge an EPO can be made immediately after
the order was made. However, such cannot be heard before 72
hours have elapsed from the time of the order.

Further, there is no right to
appeal regarding any decision to make, refuse to make or
discharge an EPO. The only method of review currently available
would be judicial review if there are grounds to support it.

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